Field of the invention: This invention relates to the general field of tools used in the concrete trades, and more specifically toward a bull float with one or more modified edges that can be used to level, smooth and finish concrete. To this end, a bull float with a main body made of wood with at least one additional material used as an insert or an edge is disclosed.
Concrete tools have remained relatively unchanged for decades. The average concrete worker pours concrete into a retained area then initially levels it out with a wooden bull float that is removably attached to the end of a pole. The worker pushes and pulls the bull float across the surface in a back-and-forth motion. After the cement has been leveled, the worker normally removes the wooden bull float from the handle and replaces it with a fiberglass bull float, which is used to further smooth out the concrete and begin to bring the water from the concrete column to the surface, forming a ¼″ to ½″ layer of “cream” or “paste” on top of the rock. After using the fiberglass bull float, the worker then replaces it with a metal bull float. With each successive bull float, the goal is less to level the concrete surface (which is done very well with a wooden bull float), and more toward bringing more of the buttery paste, or “cream” to the surface. The overall goal of the “floating” process is to first, push down the rock and smooth the concrete so that it is level, and second, create a workable paste that brings air bubbles to the surface of the concrete and allows it to be smoothed.
While this tried-and-true method has been used to create literally millions of concrete slabs throughout the world, the time spent removing one bull float from the pole and replacing it with another is undesirable. Concrete sets up quickly, leaving only a limited amount of time to “work” the concrete before it dries beyond the point where it can be modified further. Indeed, because of the chemical reactions that occur in freshly poured concrete, if it is not properly “worked” while wet and fresh, it is sometimes impossible to fix the problems during the next stage of work. And although in theory a competent concrete worker can swap one bull float or another, the “used” bull float needs to be cleaned and stored, and the worker may have to clean his/her hands or do something else that requires time. The current method also requires a concrete worker to bring a minimum of two—and usually three—bull floats, which requires extra storage space, and takes extra cleaning time. There is also the danger that a worker will bring bull floats with different types of head, and will forget to bring the proper adaptor for each bull float.
A second major problem with having to exchange bull floats occurs when a worker is trying to float a large area or is “locked out” by geographical barriers. For large bodies of concrete that are more than two times as wide as the pole, the worker normally walks in the concrete to float the center, then gradually retreats back toward the edges, working the section that he/she stood in from outside the forms. Obviously, once the worker has floated an entire slab with a wooden bull float, it makes no sense to walk all over the floated surface just to get to the center portion again with a fiberglass and/or metal bull float. “Lock out” occurs when the slab to be poured has physical barriers, such as walls, fences, or other obstacles that prevent the workers from getting access to a section of concrete once they have floated it with a wooden bull float. In both the “large slab” and “lock out” scenarios, the main problem is not the time it takes to exchange bull floats of different materials, but rather the fact that the workers cannot physically access portions of the concrete after the first stage using a wooden bull float. The result is that the air bubbles in the concrete are not brought to the surface, but rather remain in the concrete and weaken it considerably over time.
Thus there has existed a long-felt need for a single bull float that is adaptable to any type of pole, and can effectively perform the functions of wooden, metal, and fiberglass bull floats.
The current invention provides a solution to this problem by creating a bull float made from more than one material, such that the user need only use a different part of the bull float to effectively float a concrete slab without having to worry about “lock out” or large slab size. The worker can retreat across a concrete job, leaving behind a flattened and finished concrete surface that otherwise would require at least two separate bull floats.
The invention saves time, as no longer does the worker have to exchange bull floats. It also provides a superior finished product as the worker can both level and finish a portion of a concrete slab before moving on to another; never having to return to that section to “finish” it further before the floating stage is completed.
A preferred embodiment of the invention has an inserted trailing edge made of fiberglass, but other possible embodiments include two inserts of different materials and having the insert or inserts be thin strips placed into routed indentations in the bottom of the bull float, or entire side pieces adhered to the edge of the bull float, where the side piece extends from the bottom to the top of the bull float. A number of different possible materials are contemplated for the edge or insert, including but not limited to aluminum, magnesium or other metals, fiberglass, plastic, composite material, or even wood of a different density. Possible combinations in the embodiment of the invention that have the base unit of wood combined with inserts or side pieces where the insert or side piece is on only one side of the base, and where there are two inserts or side pieces—one on either edge of the base. Various combinations of material from which the inserts and side edges are made include wood fiberglass, wood/metal, fiberglass/wood/metal, wood/plastic, plastic/wood/metal and others. It should also be noted that while the main metals contemplated are aluminum and magnesium, other suitable metals are contemplated.